The thoughts and perceptions of an aspiring writer on life and the world around her

Monthly Archives: September 2017

Though fall may be upon us, it still seems too early for Halloween mostly because it’s September. Yet, you might not be able to tell by how the stores see it since it’s a rather profitable holiday. However, there are some decorations you can put in your home or garden right now since they’re generally for fall. One of these are scarecrows. Sure they may not be great for discouraging birds from getting into field crops or garden veggies. Nor do they often seem scary. But if you have straw and some old clothes lying around, you might be able to make one. And you don’t have to be a farmer or gardener either. After all, there are plenty of scarecrow festivals and contests, especially in Great Britain. Though a lot of the British ones usually take place during the spring and summer. But there’s a fall scarecrow festival in the Canadian Nova Scotia involving “pumpkin people” or scarecrows with pumpkin heads. You might also find scarecrow villages such as Nagoro, Japan that consists of 350 of them in a town of 35 people. Or at Joe’s Scarecrow Village in Cape Breton, Canada that’s mainly seen as a roadside attraction. Nevertheless, for your reading pleasure, I give you another assortment of scarecrows to enjoy.

Apparently, we’ve just experienced a strong gust of wind.

Okay, maybe not since they’re made holding a pole. But they just seem totally blown away.

2. Never thought I’d see a crow in flannels.

Though the crow doesn’t seem right in the head. Still, it’s pretty clever.

3. Sometimes a simple dress is all you need.

This one doesn’t seem to take a lot of effort to make. Just a wooden frame, gloves, a dress, and a potted plant.

4. How about sit back and smell the flowers?

She may be sitting in the shade. But even a gardener needs a break now and then.

5. You’d have to wonder why these old crows keep up their spirits.

I mean one’s riding a wheelbarrow because they had their car repossessed. Don’t believe me? It says so on the sign.

6. If you want to stand out, it pays to dress in pink.

She even has a straw hat and straw braids with pink bows. So lovely.

7. Looks like someone’s afraid of heights.

Well, it’s not going to help looking down. Also, you can easily jump off if you want to.

8. Perhaps you might want to ride a bike in the countryside.

Because there’s nothing like the wind against your back in the fresh country air. Though I’d wear a helmet for safety’s sake.

9. “Go ahead, nip at me all you want.”

For some reason, the crows don’t seem to mind him too much. Then again, his head is a literal pumpkin.

10. This old man is all potted from head to toe.

Seems kind of spiffy with his bow tie and buttons. Yet, has some grass coming out of his head.

11. Surely, you can’t find a more noble knight like this.

Yes, he has a foam sword and can’t fight. But he at least got a ribbon.

12. All this hippie scarecrow wants is peace, man.

Here he sits with his guitar in hand. However, please don’t give him a joint since he’s flammable.

13. You can always keep fit on an exercise bike.

Though it took me awhile to notice what it was. Guess it’s a simpler model.

14. Here comes a milkmaid with her pails.

Sure we don’t have milkmaids anymore. But she doesn’t seem to mind the extra weight on her shoulders.

15. You can tell this bishop’s in a thoughtful mood.

Though he is an Anglican bishop. Yet, you have to admire his fancy attire.

16. The choice is yours: scarecrow or puppet?

Okay, that’s actually pretty scary. But what’s scarier is that 63 million Americans were willing to vote for him.

17. “I ate his stuffing with a fine Chianti and some fava beans.”

Yes, that’s Hannibal Lecter from Silence of the Lambs. Sure he’s supposed to be scary, but he kind of has a rather magnetic personality.

18. Ali Baba is always up for adventure.

Though don’t mind what’s in the basket. Really, it’s kind of horrifying.

19. Introducing from Jamaica Usain Bolt.

So he’s actually made out of bolts. Okay, that’s actually very clever.

20. All hail the divine fidget spinner.

Now that has to be one large fidget spinner. Not sure how you can fit that in your pocket.

21. Shaun the Sheep hangs out with the farmer.

Shaun the Sheep is a claymation cartoon in Britain. It’s mostly slapstick but it’s cute.

22. Beware of the dark figure on a black horse.

Yes, it looks like one of those ring wraiths from Lord of the Rings. But you have to admire how it’s made out of trash bags.

23. Don’t tell me the Three Wisemen have shown up.

Okay, it’s kind of early for that. I mean it’s September and Christmas won’t be until December.

24. Wonder what these cowboys are watching.

Sure they may not have much straw in them. But they seem to be avid fans at whatever they’re watching. Like how they use normal street clothes.

25. You can’t find anything lovelier than an umbrella dress.

So she may be a doll. But at least you have to love her purple umbrella skirt with flowers. So pretty.

26. Don’t look now, but I see some minions on the roof.

Guess this is from Despicable Me 2. As far as the purple minion is concerned.

27. I’m sure you can’t resist this all-American girl.

I’m sure she’s perfect for any Rhinestone Cowboy. And she’s even wearing American flag tights.

28. Seems like this scarecrow painter is quite the artist.

Seems like the guy could paint better than most people. Then again, some repressed art major probably made him and his work.

29. The Caped Crusader seems very stuffed for some reason.

Okay, so whoever made this didn’t get Batman’s chest right. However, it’s very difficult to make a chiseled chest from straw.

30. How about a nice bottle of wine with this country gentleman?

My. he appears spiffy. Even has a sunflower on his lapel.

31. Behold, the dreaded squid king.

Not sure why this exist. But I think it more likely draws crows in than scares them away.

32. This bearded scarecrow knows how to keep it cool.

Cause if you’re all full of straw, there’s not much to stuff about. Also, you have to admire the sunglasses and beard.

33. Apparently, this hive’s all out of honey.

Actually this hive is made out of straw. But don’t worry, there aren’t any bees around this beekeeper to sting you.

34. Bet you’d never come across this angel in a tree.

On one hand, she kind of looks a bit creepy with those eyes. On the other hand, you have to like her tinsel and pigtails.

35. You’d swear it was the 1960s for these ladies.

Okay, so it’s not the Vietnam era. But you have to love their hats and tie-dye dresses.

36. Wallace and Gromit are always a delight on any afternoon.

Even has Sean the Sheep. Like how they have a table with cheese and Gromit reading a magazine.

37. You’d almost think these two merely boarded together.

After all, they’re both made from wooden ironing boards. But they certainly make a lovely couple.

38. Bet you’d never thought these scarecrows could make it in time.

Even has a dalek alongside him. Though to be fair, this was from 2006. And we know the new Doctor has gotten blonde and more ladylike since then.

39. This Humpty Dumpty scarecrow is up on a brick wall.

Though I wouldn’t push him because you can’t put him back together again. Seriously, you can’t.

40. This guitarist is all made of straw.

This one is from Taiwan. And yes, even if its guitar is made from hay.

41. Guess Dracula really can go out on a sunny day.

Though I do admit, this does make a great Halloween decoration. Wouldn’t mind seeing this on someone’s lawn.

42. Here we come to a knight with his sword and shield.

Well, he certainly looks like you can find him in a castle. Though medieval knights were anything but noble.

43. Of course, nobody can resist scarecrows of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

Kind of disappointing that this Snow White’s singing may not get woodland creatures to clean your home. But these are adorable.

44. A Scottish scarecrow always looks dashing in a kilt.

Though he’s wearing pants under it. Mostly because he’s stuffed with straw.

45. I’m sure you might admire this ravishing beauty queen.

She’s from a scarecrow festival in France. Yet, I love how her dress is decked with butterflies.

46. You’d have to admire this Indian chief’s rainbow headdress.

Well, at least the warbonnet being used on an Indian. Though to be fair, this is from a festival in France. Still, love it.

47. If you love Rococo, this Marie Antoinette scarecrow will suit your fancy.

Her hair is made from styrofoam balls. Her skirt is made from an umbrella and table cloth.

48. Seems like we have a Loch Ness monster along the hedges.

Unlike the real Loch Ness monster, you know this one definitely exists. Sure it’s not scary, but it’s great.

49. Take some time to visit some pickle ladies.

This is from a festival in Mississippi. And yes, it’s for a pickle factory.

50. Need a haircut? These salon ladies got you covered.

Not sure what to make about the pink covers. But it’s quite an inventive display.

51. This cleaning lady will make your house spotless.

Or she could just be a British housewife with an apron and a babushka. Though she does have a head made from a volleyball.

52. Seems like this cowboy would rather hang out near his shed.

Or is it his house. Either way, he seems to take it easy for some reason.

53. It takes a certain kind of woman to pull off a polka dot dress.

Well, a polka dot pink dress anyway. Still, you have to love her hair.

54. Seems like someone is in a real emergency situation.

It’s a rescue helicopter that lifts injured people to a hospital. And yes, the helicopter itself is made from straw.

55. Kids, sleep tight if you want Flossina the Tooth Fairy to leave something for you.

Didn’t know the tooth fairy even had a name. Still, this is quite clever.

56. Apparently, they’re about to start the operation.

Though the doctors seem like they’re carrying on. Then again, they’re smiling because they have plastic pumpkin heads.

57. There’s nothing more holy for your garden than a St. Francis scarecrow.

He’s even surrounded by animals. Got some critters on his arms. Wonder if he gets these creatures to clean his house.

58. Nothing beats a scarecrow lightsaber duel in your front lawn.

This part of a scarecrow display on some Star Wars fan’s lawn. And yes, that’s a straw Death Star.

59. Bet you’ve never seen this cowboy jumping a fence.

Almost what you see in the western movies. And yes, even the horse is straw.

60. This Imperial Stormtrooper will shoot the stuffing out of you.

Okay, I’m just kidding since Stormtroopers don’t hit anything. Yet, you have to like his cardboard helmet.

61. These brooms could almost sweep you of your feet.

They also have hangers for arms and shoulders. Still, they look so happy together.

62. How about seeing Zorro in your flower garden?

Not exactly Antonio Banderas, but a pretty good rendition. The horse is covered with trash bags by the way.

63. Hope this scientist can get to the bottom of this.

Seems like he has 3 high tech microscopes on the table. Wonder what his findings are about hay fever.

64. And now, we got a straw man on the trampoline.

He’s even wearing a jumpsuit. Though trampolining isn’t what I’d call a sport.

65. Here we come to a scarecrow from the 18th century.

Even has crows near its straw. Wonder if there’s a scarecrow nearby of the Headless Horseman.

66. Bet you didn’t expect this trusty pirate.

Yes, that’s a pirate. I know it seems hard to see. But look closer and you’ll get what I mean.

67. “Help me, Obi Wan Kenobi, you’re my only hope.”

R2-D2 is a trash can in this one. And even Princess Leia’s sticky bun hair is made from straw.

68. Chances are you’ve never seen a scarecrow go through a ring of fire.

Okay, that’s not a real ring of fire obviously. But it’s a killer daredevil stunt.

69. Sometimes a grenadier at your door is all you need.

Though the head on a pike shows that he’s not fooling around. Yet, he stands still at the door always keeping watch.

Early this month, ESPN co-anchor, Jemele Hill tweeted that Donald Trump is “a white supremacist whose surrounded himself with other white supremacists.” The White House cried foul and demanded that Hill be fired. But is Hill right? Trump has repeatedly claimed he’s “the least racist person you’ve encountered.” Anyone who’s heard his incendiary comments and has any idea about his policies knows that’s a pile of shit. We’ve all seen how he’s made explicitly racist and otherwise bigoted comments on the campaign trail. Memorable moments include referring Mexican immigrants as criminals and rapists, proposing a Muslim ban, suggesting a Mexican American judge should recuse himself due to his heritage, and attacking a Muslim Gold Star family. Now that trend has continued into his presidency and shows no sign of his racist antics anytime soon. After all, he’s stereotyped a black reporter, appointed white supremacists to official positions, issued a Muslim ban, and pandered to white supremacists after they held a violent rally in Charlottesville. However, many of you may not know that the very first time Trump appeared in the New York Times was because the US Department of Justice had sued him and his dad for housing discrimination. He’s repeatedly inspired similar controversies since. Nevertheless, this history is important. It’s one thing if Trump misspoke once or twice. But take his actions and comments together, there’s a clear pattern suggesting that his bigotry isn’t just mere political opportunism, but a very real element on his personality, character and career.

Blacks:
1973: Alongside his father Fred, was sued by the Department of Justice during the Nixon Administration for violating the Fair Housing Act. Federal officials uncovered evidence that Trump refused to rent to black tenants and lied to black applicants whether apartments were available, among other accusations. Trump claimed that the federal government tried getting him to rent to welfare recipients. Though he and his father signed an agreement not to discriminate against non-white renters in 1975, they never admitted guilt.
1978: Alongside his father Fred, was sued by the Department of Justice again for failing to live up to that agreement. Even that didn’t change anything either. As Salon’s Justin Elliot reports, “in 1983, a fair-housing activist cited statistics that two Trump Village developments had white majorities of at least 95 percent.”
1980s: Former Trump Castle employee Kip Brown accuses one of his businesses of discrimination. According to him, “When Donald and Ivana came to the casino, the bosses would order all the black people off the floor. It was the eighties, I was a teenager, but I remember it: They put us all in the back.”
1989: Told Brian Gumbel in an interview, “A well-educated black has a tremendous advantage over a well-educated white in terms of the job market…if I was starting off today, I would love to be a well-educated black, because I really do believe they have the actual advantage today.” All the serious studies refuted that. But his statement serves as a kind of shout-out to those ignorant about US racial dynamics.
1996: Is sued by 20 African Americans in Indiana for failing to honor a promise to hire mostly minority workers for a riverboat casino on Lake Michigan.
2004: During The Apprentice’s second season, fired black contestant Kevin Allen for being overeducated. Trump said on the show, “You’re an unbelievably talented guy in terms of education, and you haven’t done anything. At some point you have to say, ‘That’s enough.’”
2005: Publicly pitched what was essentially The Apprentice: White People vs. Black People. He claimed he “wasn’t particularly happy” with his show’s most recent season so he considered “an idea that is fairly controversial — creating a team of successful African Americans versus a team of successful whites. Whether people like that idea or not, it is somewhat reflective of our very vicious world.”
2010s-present: Has directed accusations of racism against blacks on Twitter 3 times as often as he’s done so against whites. Yet, his use of “racist” and “racism” is best understood in the context of the conservative movement that has come to believe that whites face more discrimination than blacks, despite absolutely no evidence.
2011: Played a big role pushing false rumors that President Barack Obama wasn’t born in the United States. Even sent investigators to Hawaii to look into Obama’s birth certificate, which the president released calling Trump a “carnival barker.”
2011: Also argued that Obama wasn’t a good enough student to get into Columbia or Harvard Law School and demanded he released his university transcripts. Trump claimed, “I heard he was a terrible student. Terrible. How does a bad student go to Columbia and then to Harvard?”
2011: Told Albany’s Talk 1300, “I have a great relationship with the blacks. I’ve always had a great relationship with the blacks.”
2011: Tweeted: “What a convenient mistake: @BarackObama issued a statement for Kwanza (sic) but failed to issue one for Christmas.”
2012-2013: Had a long Twitter feud with MSNBC host Toure whom he accused of being racist no fewer than 10 times. One tweet reads, “Not only is @Toure a racist (and boring), he’s a really dumb guy!” However, the feud was more evidently sparked by Toure’s tweets about Trump’s bankruptcies.
2013: Sent 6 tweets accusing HBO “Real Sports” host Bryant Gumbel of racism. One tweet reads, “In that @TimeWarner has @HBO with really dumb racist Bryant Gumbel (and I mean dumb), and no CBS (which fired Bryant), I am switching bldgs.” However, the accusations may have been linked to Gumbel’s comments on Trump’s golf courses.
2014: Tweeted: “Sadly, because president Obama has done such a poor job as president, you won’t see another black president for generations!” I’m sorry just because race relations are poor, doesn’t mean President Barack Obama was a bad president (which he wasn’t).
2015: Tweeted: “Our great African-American president hasn’t exactly had a positive impact on the thugs who are so happily and openly destroying Baltimore.” As Men’s Trait noted, “Seriously, just shut up at this point. That’s like holding Jimmy Carter accountable for all the crap white people did while he was in the Oval Office.”
2015: Tweeted: “And if you look at black and African American youth, to a point where they’ve never done more poorly. There’s no spirit.”
2015: Called President Barack Obama, “the founder of ISIS.”
2015: Said during a Florida press conference, “I think President Obama has been the most ignorant president in our history. His views of the world as he says don’t jibe and the world is a mess. President Obama — when he became president, he didn’t know anything. This guy didn’t know a thing. And honestly, today he knows less. Today, he knows less. He has done a terrible job.” He later said, “He has been a disaster as a president. He will go down as one of the worst presidents in the history of our country. It is a mess.”
2015: In September, tweeted an image of a masked black man holding a handgun in a threatening manner alongside false statistics attempting to show that blacks kill more people of all other races. One “fact” stated that blacks killed 81% of white homicide victims that year. According to the FBI, the number is closer to 15%.
2015: Condoned the beating of a Black Lives Matter protester his supporters attacked during a campaign rally in Alabama. “Get him the hell out of here, will you, please?” he told the cheering crowd. “Get him out of here. Throw him out!” Video of the incident shows the assailants kicking the man after he had fallen to the ground. The next day, Trump implied that the attackers were justified noting, “Maybe [the protester] should have been roughed up. It was absolutely disgusting what he was doing.” His dismissive attitude toward the protester is part of a larger, troubling pattern of instigating violence toward protesters at campaign events, where people of color have attracted especially violent hostility. Trump also believes that the entire Black Lives Matter movement lacks legitimate policy grievances. And he’s alluded to these views in an New York Times Magazine interview where he described Ferguson, Missouri as one of the most dangerous places in America. In reality, the small St. Louis suburb doesn’t even make it to the top 20 highest-crime municipalities in the country. But it’s notorious for its police corruption which has a long record harassing its black community for funds.
2016: Said during a June rally, “Look at my African American over here!”
2016-present: At the Republican National Convention, officially seized the mantle of the “law and order” candidate, an obvious dog whistle playing to white fears of black crime despite that US crime being at a historic low. Trump’s speeches, comments, and executive actions after he took office have continued this line of messaging.
2016: Said in a pitch to black voters, “You’re living in poverty, your schools are no good, you have no jobs, 58 percent of your youth is unemployed. What the hell do you have to lose?” Trump’s remarks show he has no appreciation for black culture or achievement but instead utters one ugly cliché after another. As Hillary Clinton noted, “In just the past week, under the guise of ‘outreach’ to African Americans, Trump has stood up in front of largely white audiences and described black communities in such insulting and ignorant terms. ‘Poverty. Rejection. Horrible education. No housing. No homes. No ownership. Crime at levels nobody has seen.’ ‘Right now,’ he said, ‘you walk down the street and get shot.’ Those are his words.” Actual Trump rallies consisted of this on a regular basis.
2016: African American Apprentice winner Randal Pinkett tells Hollywood Reporter that Trump asked him if he’d share his title with the runner up- a white woman.
2016: During a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, said that black voters came through for him, arguing that those who stayed home did it to help him. Except that blacks thoroughly loathe him and most black voters came out for Hillary Clinton.
2017: Stereotyped a black reporter at a February press conference. When April Ryan asked if he planned to meet and work with the Congressional Black Caucus, he repeatedly asked her to set up a meeting despite her insistence that she’s “just a reporter.”
2017: In the wake of Charlottesville over the controversy of Confederate monuments, tweeted: “Sad to see the history and culture being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments.” Know that Trump was born and raised in Queens and has lived in Manhattan for most of his life. Thus, his cultural roots are far removed from those who erected those monuments. Nor has he ever shown any affinity for what’s especially popular in the South like NASCAR, church, college football, hunting, fishing, country music, barbecue, and what have you. It’s pretty clear his defense of Confederate monuments is rooted in racism.
2017: Tweeted: “ESPN is paying a really big price for its politics (and bad programming). People are dumping it in RECORD numbers. Apologize for untruth!” This in reaction to ESPN anchor Jemele Hill tweeting, “Donald Trump is a white supremacist who has largely surrounded himself w/ other white supremacists.” White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders called Hill’s comment a “fireable offense.”

Native Americans:
1993: Tried to open a casino in Bridgeport, Connecticut that would compete with one owned by the Mashantucket Pequot Nation, a local Native American tribe. During a House subcommittee on Native American Affairs hearing, claimed that the Pequots, “don’t look like Indians to me… They don’t look like Indians to Indians.” He then elaborated on those remarks alleging that the mafia had infiltrated Native American casinos which the FBI had immediately denied.
2000: Opposing a casino proposed by the St. Regis Mohawk tribe, which he saw as a threat to his Atlantic City casinos, secretly ran a series of ads suggesting the tribe had a “record of criminal activity [that] is well documented.”
2012-present: Has repeatedly referred to Senator Elizabeth Warren as “Pocahontas” since she said she had Cherokee ancestors and received criticism over lack of evidence to substantiate her claim. But Warren said at the time, “These are my family stories.”

Hispanics:
2015: Launched his presidential campaign calling Mexican immigrants “rapists” who are “bringing crime” and “bringing drugs” to the US. His campaign is largely built on building a wall to keep them out of the US. He even accused Latin American governments of actively sending undocumented immigrants across the border.
2015: Said in an interview with Entertainment Tonight, “I don’t have a racist bone in my body. The fact that I want a strong border and the fact that I don’t want illegal immigrants pouring into this country, that doesn’t make me a racist, it means I love this country and I want to save this country.”
2015: Tweeted: “Jeb Bush has to like the Mexican Illegals because of his wife.”
2015: Said on NBC News: “The Mexican government forces many bad people into our country. Because they’re smart. They’re smarter than our leaders.” During that same interview, he told NBC, “I’ll win the Latino vote because I’ll create jobs. I’ll create jobs and the Latinos will have jobs they didn’t have.”
2015: Said during a rally in Birch Run, Michigan: “Jeb Bush will not be able to negotiate against Mexico. Jeb Bush with Mexico said, ‘People, come in,’ they come in, it’s an act of love, OK?” Also remarked, “I’m leading in the Hispanic vote, and I’m going to win the Hispanic vote. I’m also leading in the regular vote.”
2015: Referred to two supporters beating up a homeless Latino man in Boston as “passionate.” They cited Trump’s anti-immigrant message when explaining why they did it. One of the men told police officers, “Donald Trump was right ― all these illegals need to be deported.” Trump suggested that the men were well intentioned and had simply gotten carried away. “I will say that people who are following me are very passionate,” he said. “They love this country and they want this country to be great again. They are passionate.”
2015: Addressing news of a coalition of Hispanic organizations protesting his SNL appearance, told Fox & Friends in October, “I’m leading in the polls with the Hispanics. I mean, you look at Nevada, I’m leading in the polls with the Hispanics because I produce jobs, and they know it. I have thousands of Hispanics that work for me, my relationships to Hispanics is better than those groups. Those groups are looking to fundraise; I know all about those groups.”
2015: Asked about his wall policy during an Iowa press conference by Univision’s Jorge Ramos, shouted down and had security forcibly remove the reporter. As Ramos waited to get back inside the press conference so he could do his job, a member of Trump’s entourage told him to “get out of my country.” Ramos is a US citizen.
2015: During a November GOP debate, compared his plan to deport undocumented immigrants to President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s infamous “Operation Wetback,” which deported more than 1 million Mexicans in the 1950s, resulting in many deaths.
2016: Alleged that the Rev. Rafael Cruz was involved in the Kennedy assassination, which his son Senator Ted Cruz took to great offense. “His father was with Lee Harvey Oswald prior to Oswald’s being – you know, shot. I mean, the whole thing is ridiculous. What is this, right prior to his being shot, and nobody even brings it up. They don’t even talk about that. That was reported, and nobody talks about it.”
2016: For Cinco de Mayo, tweeted a picture of himself eating a taco bowl with the tweet “Sadly, because president Obama has done such a poor job as president, you won’t see another black president for generations!”
2016: Argued that Judge Gonzalo Curiel should recuse himself from the Trump University lawsuit he was overseeing because of his Mexican heritage and membership in a Latino lawyers association. House Speaker Paul Ryan called such comments, “the textbook definition of racism.” Curiel is the son of Mexican immigrants who was born in Indiana.
2016: During an October debate with Hillary Clinton: “We have some bad hombres here, and we’re going to get them out.”
2017: Pardoned notorious ex-sheriff Joe Arpaio who for willfully violating a federal court order while sheriff by allowing racial profiling round ups of suspected undocumented immigrants. During his reign in Maricopa County, Latinos suffered widespread systemic abuse and discrimination. They were 4-9 times more likely to be pulled over for traffic stops, often for no good reason. A federal judge found Arpaio guilty of violating Hispanics’ constitutional rights and ordered him to stop detaining people based on their ethnicity. The former sheriff refused so another judge found him on criminal contempt. Nevertheless, Trump has called Arpaio “a great American patriot” as well as praised his self-styled toughness on undocumented immigration.
2017: Ordered the end of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) that’s designed to protect undocumented immigrants brought to the country by their parents from deportation.

Muslims:
2010: Publicly opposed a proposal to build a Muslim community center in Lower Manhattan during the huge national controversy over the “Ground Zero Mosque.” Trump called the project, “insensitive” and offered to buy out one of its investors. On David Letterman, he later argued, referring to Muslims, “Well, somebody’s blowing us up. Somebody’s blowing up buildings, and somebody’s doing lots of bad stuff.”
2015: When asked at a Republican debate whether he meant all 1.6 billion Muslims hate the us, responded, “I mean a lot of them. I mean a lot of them.”
2015: Called for a national database to track all Muslims and surveillance of mosques. Commented there should be many systems “beyond databases” and he’d get Muslims registered by using “good management.” When asked whether there’s a difference between requiring Muslims to register and Jews in Nazi Germany, Trump replied, “You tell me.”
2015: Alleged that thousands of American Muslims in New Jersey were cheering the 9/11 attacks.
2015-present: Called for a ban on all Muslims entering the US and later expanded it to include those from specific countries, consisting of possibly France and Germany. Once he took office, Trump issued his “Muslim ban” executive order, which banned anyone from 7 Muslim-majority countries from coming into the US for 90 days and banned nearly all refugees for 120 days.
2016: Said during a rally in March, “I think Islam hates us. There’s something there — there’s a tremendous hatred there. There’s a tremendous hatred. We have to get to the bottom of it. There is an unbelievable hatred of us.”
2016: During a South Carolina rally, told supporters about US occupation of the Philippines in the early 20th century and what General John Pershing used to fight Muslim insurgents there. He said, “They were having terrorism problems, just like we do. And he caught 50 terrorists who did tremendous damage and killed many people. And he took the 50 terrorists, and he took 50 men and he dipped 50 bullets in pigs’ blood — you heard that, right? He took 50 bullets, and he dipped them in pigs’ blood. And he had his men load his rifles, and he lined up the 50 people, and they shot 49 of those people. And the 50th person, he said: You go back to your people, and you tell them what happened. And for 25 years, there wasn’t a problem. OK? Twenty-five years, there wasn’t a problem.” This story is mostly apocryphal but Trump has repeated the story several times since.
2016: Tweeted on the Orlando nightclub massacre: “Appreciate the congrats for being right on radical Islamic terrorism, I don’t want congrats, I want toughness & vigilance. We must be smart!”
2016: Retaliated against Muslim parents of a US Army officer who sacrificed his own life for his fellow soldiers while serving in the Iraq War. During the Democratic National Convention, Khizir Khan spoke out against Trump’s bigoted rhetoric and his disregard for civil liberties. “Let me ask you, have you even read the U.S. Constitution?” he asked before pulling a copy of the document from his jacket and holding it up. “I will gladly lend you my copy.” His headscarfed wife Ghazala stood at his side but didn’t speak. Trump seized on her silence to imply she was forbidden from speaking due to the Gold Star couple’s Islamic faith. He told ABC News, “If you look at his wife, she was standing there. She had nothing to say. She probably, maybe she wasn’t allowed to have anything to say. You tell me.” Mrs. Khan responded writing a Washington Post op-ed explaining that she couldn’t speak because of her grief. “Walking onto the convention stage, with a huge picture of my son behind me, I could hardly control myself. What mother could? Donald Trump has children whom he loves. Does he really need to wonder why I did not speak?” she wrote.
2016: Appointed retired Lt. General Michael Flynn as National Security Adviser. Notorious for his claims about Islam and his tendency to disseminate fake news on social media such as a linking to a tweet claiming Hillary Clinton was “wearing hijab in solidarity with Islamic terrorists.” Also used social media to condemn the entire religion of Islam, calling it a “malignant cancer.” Once tweeting, “Arab and Persian world ‘leaders'” should “step up to the plate and declare their Islamic ideology sick.” Falsely claimed Sharia Law “is spreading in the United States,” demonstrating what the New York Times called “a loose relationship with facts.”

Asians:
1988: Spent much of his commencement speech at Lehigh University accusing countries like Japan of “stripping the United States of economic dignity.” This matches much of his current rhetoric on China.
1989: When asked to give an estimate of his total wealth, he responded, “Who the f knows? I mean, really, who knows how much the Japs will pay for Manhattan property these days?”
2012: Tweeted: “The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.”
2015: During an August Iowa speech while boasting his ability to negotiate, especially in dealing with the Chinese, used broken English to impersonate Asian negotiators. He said, “When these people walk into the room, they don’t say, ‘Oh hello, how’s the weather? It’s so beautiful outside. How are the Yankees doing? They’re doing wonderful, that’s great.’ They say, ‘We want deal!’”

Jews:
2013: Got in a Twitter fit over Jon Stewart referring him as “Fuckface von Clownstick.” One of the tweets reads, “If Jon Stewart is so above it all & legit, why did he change his name from Jonathan Leibowitz. He should be proud of his heritage!” Another read, “Jon Stewart @TheDailyShow is a total phony-he should cherish his past-not run from it.” The Daily Show replied, “Can’t an overrated Jew have a complicated relationship with his dad without being accused of hiding his heritage? #FuckFaceVonClownstick.”
2015: During a December address to the Republican Jewish Coalition, he tried to relate to the crowd by invoking the stereotype of Jews as talented and cunning businesspeople. Touting his 1987 book, Trump: the Art of the Deal, he said, “I’m a negotiator, like you folks. Is there anyone who doesn’t renegotiate deals in this room? Perhaps more than any room I’ve spoken to.” He later implied that he had little chance of earning the Jewish Republican group’s support because his fealty couldn’t be bought with campaign donations (actually it can, but that’s beside the point). “You’re not going to support me, because I don’t want your money,” he told them (in an obvious lie). “You want to control your own politician.”
2016: Brands his nationalist foreign policy as “America First.” If you’re not familiar with American history, before Trump, the phrase of “America First” was notoriously associated with the isolationist group the America First Committee, which opposed US entry into WWII. Though it originated with a bunch of Ivy League college kids that included future President Gerald Ford, its membership soon extended to xenophobes, Anti-Semites, and even Nazi sympathizers. Charles Lindbergh’s infamous Anti-Semitic laden 1941 Des Moines speech to the America First Committee is the reason why that phrase hasn’t been echoed in decades. Even today, the phrase “America First” carries Anti-Semitic undertones.
2016: Tweeted and later deleted an image showing Hillary Clinton in front of a pile of money and by a Jewish Star of David stating, “Most Corrupt Candidate Ever!” The tweet had some very obvious anti-Semitic imagery, but Trump insisted that the star was a sheriff’s badge and said his campaign shouldn’t have deleted it. Mic later discovered that the image was actually created by white supremacists that appeared on a Neo-Nazi forum for more than a week before Trump shared it. In addition, the image’s watermark led to a Twitter account that regularly tweeted racist and sexist memes.
2017: Doesn’t mention Jews in his speech on Holocaust Remembrance Day. Written statement calls for remembering “victims, survivors, heroes” but omits mentioning Jews who were the largest ethnic group affected. Politico later reported that the State Department had drafted a version that did mention Jews but the White House blocked it.
2017: Says in news conference to a young Jewish reporter asking about an increase in anti-Semitic acts, “I am the least anti-Semitic person that you’ve ever seen.”

General:
1970s-present: Has been sued 10 times for racial discrimination and has won none of those lawsuits.
1989: During the early days of the Central Park Five case, immediately runs an full page ad in 4 local papers demanding, “BRING BACK THE DEATH PENALTY. BRING BACK OUR POLICE!” Referring to the alleged Central Park attackers and violent criminals, he wrote “They should be forced to suffer and, when they kill, they should be executed for their crimes.” The Central Park Five case was very controversial one that’s been characterized as a modern-day lynching involving four black teenagers and one Latino adolescent accused of raping a New York City jogger. Due to New York City struggling with high crime at the time, public outrage over the rape let to these teens’ wrongful convictions, which were later vacated after they spent 7-13 years in prison and the city paid a $42 million settlement. Today their case is considered a cautionary tale about a politicized criminal justice process. But despite DNA evidence proving the contrary, Trump still believe these boys are guilty and deserve to die.
1991: Criticism on black accountant quoted in a book by former Trump Plaza president John O’Donnell. According to him, Trump said, “Black guys counting my money! I hate it. The only kind of people I want counting my money are short guys that wear yarmulkes every day. … I think that the guy is lazy. And it’s probably not his fault, because laziness is a trait in blacks. It really is, I believe that. It’s not anything they can control.” Trump initially denied the remarks but later said in a 1997 Playboy interview, “the stuff O’Donnell wrote about me is probably true. The guy’s a f—-g loser. A f—-g loser. I brought the guy in to work for me; it turns out he didn’t know that much about what he was doing. I think I met the guy two or three times total. And this guy goes off and writes a book about me, like he knows me!”
1992: His Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino had to pay a $200,000 fine over transferring black and women dealers to accommodate a big-time gambler’s prejudices.
2013: During the ramp up to the George Zimmerman trial, tweeted that “the overwhelming amount of violent crime in our cities is committed by blacks and Hispanics.”
2015-present: Has been repeatedly slow to condemn white supremacists who’ve endorsed him and has regularly retweeted messages from white supremacists and neo-Nazis.
2015: Tweeted: “According to Bill O’Reilly, 80% of all the shootings in New York City are blacks — if you add Hispanics, that figure goes to 98%, 1% white.”
2015: Tweeted in June, “Sadly, the overwhelming amount of violent crime in our major cities is committed by blacks and Hispanics – a tough subject – must be discussed.”
2016: Refuses to directly denounce former KKK leader David Duke’s endorsement, claiming he knew nothing about him and contradicting years of his own statements.
2016: During a debate with Hillary Clinton, says, “African Americans and Hispanics are living in hell. You walk down the street and you get shot.”
2016: Appoints former Breitbart chief, Steve Bannon as White House Chief Strategist. His history at Breitbart published sexist, racist, and inflammatory stories. According to former editor Ben Shapiro, “under Bannon’s Leadership, Breitbart openly embraced the white supremacist alt-right … with [Breitbart editor Milo] Yiannopoulos pushing white ethno-nationalism as a legitimate response to political correctness, and the comment section turning into a cesspool for white supremacist mememakers.” In his personal life, Bannon has been accused of making racist and anti-Semitic remarks behind closed doors. His ex-wife testified during their divorce that he didn’t want their kids attending school “with Jews” because they were “whiny brats.” Another former colleague stated he “occasionally talked about the genetic superiority of some people” and suggested limiting the number of black voters by restricting voting to property owners might not be “such a bad thing.”
2016: Nominated Steve Mnuchin as Treasury Secretary. A former executive of Goldman Sachs, Mnuchin once co-founded a bank called OneWest in 2008 which he led until 2015. As of 2016, OneWest is being sued for discriminating against black and Latino customers. According to a complaint by two fair housing agencies the bank, “kept bank branches out of nonwhite neighborhoods.” And as Fortune wrote, gave nonwhite customers disproportionately fewer mortgages. Between 2012 and 2013, the California bank gave zero loans to black customers in Los Angeles.
2016: Nominated then US Senator Jeff Sessions as Attorney General who was rejected from a federal judge appointment in the 1980s after people who worked for him testified that he made racially charged remarks. Has said he thought the KKK was okay until he learned they smoked pot. Once told a black lawyer, to “be careful how you talk to white folks.” Referred to the NAACP as “Un-American.” Called a black prosecutor, “boy.” And once called a white civil rights lawyer, “a traitor to his race.” Even his own friends thought he was too racist to serve as a federal judge. Coretta Scott King wrote a letter telling the US Senate not to confirm him.
2017: Started a commission to perpetuate the myth of rampant voter fraud that’s part of a conservative scheme do deny black people and others their right to vote. Heading that commission is Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach who’s often called, “most racist politician in America” and the “king of voter suppression.”
2017: Repealed federal regulations against pay discrimination.
2017: Issued a law enforcement protection executive order.
2017: Created a commission to investigate affirmative action lawsuits.
2017: Gave an ugly speech to a group of police officers during which he described gang violence in a creepy, almost loving detail in an attempt to smear immigrants as violent criminals.
2017: In the week after the white supremacist riots in Charlottesville, Virginia, has repeatedly suggested that “many sides” and “both sides” were responsible for the violence. Or to put it this way, Trump painted white supremacists as morally equivalent to the counter protesters standing against them. This seemed like a dog whistle to white supremacists and many of them took it as one with white nationalist Richard Spencer praising him for “defending the truth.”

2017: Said at a rally in Alabama that NFL owners should fire players who don’t stand for the national anthem. “Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say ‘get that son of a bitch off the field?’” Trump asked the roaring crowd. He went on to claim that if owners fire a player for protesting the anthem, they’d become, the most popular person in the country. Because that is a total disrespect of our heritage.” Because to him, these players are “ruining the game.” Sure, conservatives might see players taking a knee as disrespect on the American flag and for our troops. However, these players take a knee to protest police brutality and systematic racism. Thus, Trump’s rants over the NFL are just racism disguised as patriotism.

You’d think that Republican politicians at Capitol Hill would know by now that taking people’s healthcare away for whatever reason is as morally reprehensible as it is unpopular. But as soon as Congress is back in session, a group of Republican US Senators introduce this Graham-Cassidy legislation which is seen as the last Obamacare repeal bill left standing. The US Senate has until the end of the month to vote on this bill. In many ways, Graham-Cassidy is strikingly similar to earlier Trumpcare bills. But it’s also could be the most radical plan yet, drafted in secrecy without the usual committee hearings and markups. Senators Lindsey Graham and Bill Cassidy are rushing this legislation to the floor under the special “budget reconciliation which allows the bill to advance with only 51 votes instead of the usual 60. So far, it faces long odds that some of its backers said it would be almost impossible to get a massive rewrite of the healthcare system through the Senate within that period of time. And even if it passes, it could take the Congressional Budget Office could take several weeks to estimate Graham-Cassidy’s impact. That means we may have no idea how many Americans will lose their health insurance, how much premiums would increase, how much the deficit will increase, how much it will increase costs, and other impacts on the US economy. Still, keep in mind that it took only took 3 Republican US Senators to kill Obamacare repeal in July so anything’s possible. Even worse is that US Senator John McCain is open to supporting it. And remember, he was the deciding vote to sink Trumpcare back in July. Nonetheless, Graham-Cassidy’s impact can be potentially devastating to 1/6 of the US economy as well as millions of Americans.

Regardless of you think, it is morally unconscionable to introduce legislation designed to take away people’s healthcare for any reason, especially politics. Every Republican plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act has meant higher costs, millions of hard-working Americans losing their insurance, and key protections gutted with devastating consequences for anyone with pre-existing conditions. Should Graham-Cassidy be made law, millions will lose their insurance, thousands will face bankruptcy and loss in quality of life, hundreds of jobs will be lost, hospitals and medical facilities will close, costs will rise, and many will die from not getting the treatment they needed to save their lives. There will be more abortions, more maternal and infant deaths, more deaths and disabilities from gun violence, more ravaged communities, and more opioid overdose deaths. Most of all, it will threaten the health security for every American. This isn’t the kind of healthcare future most Americans want to live in and I will absolutely not stand for it.

The fact my access to Medicaid in the next decade may depend a few GOP Senators’ votes just scares the living shit out of me. It’s appalling enough that I have to live under a for-profit healthcare system I strongly believe has no moral right to exist. If I lose my Medicaid coverage, it’s very likely I may never be able to get health coverage that’s just as good or at all. Why the hell should I have my healthcare taken away from me just so some rich guy can enjoy some massive tax cut he doesn’t even need? I can’t live with that. I shouldn’t have to live with that. I shouldn’t have to lose my healthcare just so the Republican Party can satisfy their donors and voters. My healthcare shouldn’t be sacrificed to fulfill some market-based conservative vision that won’t benefit me. My autism shouldn’t reduce my own humanity to a financial risk. I’d rather pay taxes for someone else’s healthcare treatment I may not even need than be dropped from my coverage due politicians’ selfish interests.

As I’ve said before, the Republicans’ war on Obamacare must end. Graham-Cassidy is just mere malicious cruelty that robs Americans of their dignity and possibly their life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Healthcare is a fundamental right the federal government should protect for all Americans. Corporations, politicians, and employers shouldn’t decide who has access to healthcare, especially Republicans on Capitol Hill. Nobody should be denied treatment if they’re sick or injured regardless of whether they can afford it or who has to pay for it. If a medical treatment can save someone’s life, then nothing else should matter. If you believe otherwise, then you can just go to hell for all I care.

What Graham-Cassidy does:

1. Shift Medicaid funding and insurance subsidies to a block grant system: Instead of determining the federal government’s share of funding for Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion and individual insurance subsidies, states would receive large chunks of money up front and determine what to do with it. For instance, they could spend it on providing insurance, fund high risk pools, or pay bills for patients with high medical needs. But there is no accountability for how this money is spent, won’t adjust based on need or higher costs, nor requires offering low and moderate income individuals coverage or financial assistance. Nevertheless, this system literally takes money from states that expanded Medicaid and gives it to states that didn’t. For those that did, their block grant funding could be anywhere from 35-60% below what they’d receive in the Medicaid expansion and/or marketplace subsidy funding under the current law. It would also would make it much more expensive for states to continue Obamacare if they like it. In fact, most states if not all would have to use the bill’s so-called “flexibility” to eliminate or cut coverage and financial assistance to low or moderate income people. Many states would likely do one or more of the following: cap enrollment; offer very limited benefits; charge unaffordable premiums, deductibles, and co-payments; redirect federal funding from providing coverage to other purposes, like reimbursing hospitals for uncompensated care; and limit assistance to fixed dollar amounts that put coverage out of reach for most low- to moderate- income people. Millions would lose coverage. Rural hospitals that receive more of their income from the ACA and Medicaid will be disproportionately hurt. In addition, to get this money, states would have to kick in some of their funds, too. And that block grant funding will end in 2026.

2. Convert Medicaid’s current federal-state partnership to a per-capita cap: This could cut Medicaid per-beneficiary funding for seniors, people with disabilities, and families with children. This could result in states having to raise taxes, cut other budget priorities like education, or make severe cuts to eligibility, benefits, and provider payments. Home- and community- based services allowing people needing long term services and supports to remain in their homes rather than move to an assisted living facilities could be cut in many states. These and other “optional” benefits to states under federal law could be at greatest risk. Moreover, the gap between federal funding under the per-capita cap and states’ actual funding needs would grow even larger if Medicaid costs grow more quickly than expected in ways the cap doesn’t account for. Over time, this will not only leave Medicaid underfunded and way less responsive to low-income people’s health needs.

3. Allow states to adjust the essential health benefits: Currently the federal government mandates that all plans sold on the Obamacare exchanges cover 10 basic types of care, including maternity care, emergency room visits, prescription drugs, mental health coverage, rehabilitative services, and substance abuse treatment. Under this proposal, states could significantly pare back their insurance coverage to cover less expensive benefits. We should not that before the ACA, 75% of all individual market plans excluded maternity coverage, 45% excluded substance abuse treatment, and 38% excluded mental health care. This could lead many people without access to the healthcare they need, especially if they have a pre-existing condition. According to the CBO, states accounting for half of the nation’s population would choose to let insurers exclude essential health benefits. People needing these services could face increased out of pocket costs that could amount to thousands of dollars per year.

4. Eliminate or weaken protections for people with pre-existing conditions by allowing states to waive the ACA’s underwriting prohibition: Underwriting allows insurance plans to charge premiums to expected health costs of a specific patient. Thus, resulting in low premiums for the young and healthy and high premiums for those sicker or older. Obamacare bans varying premiums by health status and required all individuals to be charged the same. Because before the ACA, insurers could charge unaffordable premiums to those with pre-existing conditions which effectively resulted in coverage denial. In the US, 52% of adults under 65 have a pre-existing condition. According to the CBO, states accounting for 1/6 of the nation’s population would let insurers charge higher premiums based on health status. In those states, less healthy individuals and people with pre-existing conditions would be unable to purchase comprehensive coverage with premiums close to those under the current law and might not be able to purchase coverage at all.

5. Eliminate the individual and employer mandate: People who don’t sign up for insurance won’t face a tax under the plan and companies can’t be compelled to offer coverage. This can result in hundreds of Americans losing their employee health benefits at work. Not to mention, destabilize and risk collapse of the individual market.

6. Creates a state reinsurance fund: Allocates a certain amount of money to insurers to offset greater losses from insuring a sicker pool of people. This is known as a high-risk pool which will most likely be underfunded, charge expensive coverage, and provide terrible coverage for low-income people with pre-existing conditions.

7. Bars states from reimbursing Planned Parenthood for Medicaid enrollees for a year: Thus, preventing Medicaid recipients from accessing preventative health and family planning services. This will leave millions of Americans without access to critical services, particularly low-income women. Of course, you probably saw this coming since many Republicans are staunchly anti-abortion. Still, one’s abortion stance shouldn’t prevent women from getting a pap smear, breast cancer screening, or contraceptives, especially if Planned Parenthood is the only provider in town.

8. Lifts prohibition against annual and lifetime limits on benefits: This can be particularly devastating to premature babies, those with disabilities, the rare disease community, and cancer patients.

9. Allows states to institute work requirements for Medicaid: Studies have shown instituting work requirements for benefits doesn’t alleviate poverty. In fact, work requirements exacerbated it. Stable employment among recipients subject to work requirements proved the exception, not the norm. In addition, most recipients with significant barriers to employment never found work even after participating in work programs otherwise deemed successful. This is especially the case when such programs don’t support efforts to boost beneficiaries’ efforts and skills. Nevertheless, voluntary employment programs could significantly increase employment without the negative impacts ending basic assistance for individuals unable to meet mandatory work requirements.

10. Nearly doubles maximum contributions to Health Savings Accounts: Called HSAs, these are tax advantaged accounts for those enrolled in a high deductible healthcare plan. Proponents think HSAs encourage consumers to make more cost-effective and responsible healthcare decisions. However, they may actually worsen healthcare in the US since people may hold back spending that would be covered, or spend it unnecessarily just because it has accumulated to avoid the penalty taxes for withdrawing it. Not to mention, it’s widely believed they only benefit young, healthy people with money and make healthcare more expensive for everyone else. They’re particularly bad for those with chronic health problems with predictable costs. Besides, low-income people often don’t enough to from the tax breaks HSAs offer. To make matters worse, the FDIC doesn’t insure them since HSAs are subject to market risk. And a lot of surveys found that HSAs recipients are significantly less satisfied with most of its aspects than those with more comprehensive health plans.

Whether you need to sit, eat, put stuff away, set stuff down, work, sleep, or go to Narnia, then furniture is absolutely essential for your day to day living. After all, without furniture, we’d just carry on our daily lives in empty rooms with only the floor to conduct our activities on, which is neither comfortable or practical. Even our Neolithic cave dwelling ancestors couldn’t live without furniture 30,000 years ago and they survived without agriculture. Sure the earliest furniture pieces were made from wood, bone, and stone, and no Stone Age pieces exist. But they did depict figures in chairs, according to archaeological evidence. The Neolithic village of Skara Brae in Scotland’s Orkney Islands contains some of the oldest surviving furniture with each house equipped with stone cupboards, beds, dressers, shelves, seats, and even limpet tanks. If they had stone electronics, appliances, and foot motion cars, you’d almost think these people lived like the Flintstones. More complex techniques such as joinery first appear in the early dynastic period of Ancient Egypt with mostly wooden pieces, some decorated precious metals and ivory. Ancient Greece and Rome followed suit with the klinai, a multipurpose couch you can eat, relax, and sleep in. Go into a furniture store today and you’ll find all kinds of styles and in many materials. Home furniture usually consists of wood and upholstery (save for beds which can be wood or metal). Office furniture is normally composed of metal and plastic. Then there’s IKEA furniture which can be made from anything though you’d have to put it together yourself. Still, as with anything else, you’ll find some odd pieces here and there which is where I come in. So for your reading pleasure, I give you an assortment of unique furniture you wouldn’t find in a store, including IKEA. Enjoy.

How about a chair that branches out?

Sure it looks as if it was cut off straight from a tree with its bark shaved off. But come on, do you think it was really made that way?

2. May you have a seat in this little teacup.

It’s a teacup chair you can sit in. The handle is on top. Wonder if you can lift it like that. Maybe if you’re a giant.

3. You might have a swinging good time if you sat at this table during a meeting.

Yes, it sure looks fun since the chairs are all swings. And the swings are in all different colors.

4. A strung up bed doesn’t touch the floor.

However, don’t weigh it down much that the ropes snap. Though the look quite delicate to me in this picture.

5. Now your little girl can have her own loft bed and playhouse.

Resembles a quaint little cottage. Has a bed on top and some cushions on the bottom.

6. This china cabinet appears slightly askew.

Well, it certainly has a strong personality. Though it was carved slightly lopsided like that.

7. This couch comes with some extra padding.

Just rest your back on the cushions on this one. Maybe that’s a little high for a couch.

8. A hotdog couch is perfect for any indoor barbecue.

Comprises of a bun couch with a hotdog cushion along with tomato and cucumber slice pillows. Great tasty fun if you want to kick back and relax.

9. Finally a mattress specifically made for any sleeper’s needs.

Okay, maybe not since it’s in the form of a side sleeper. But you’d have to admire the creativity on this.

10. No living room is complete without an overhead bookcase.

Includes a ladder you can use to find books and lights to read them. You can even put houseplants on top.

11. Check out this flowery chair.

Kind of resembles a morning glory. Wonder what sitting on it feels like.

12. Seems like someone had an accident on this table.

Actually, that spill is made from wood attached to it. But yes, it certainly seems like a mess.

13. How about you kick back and relax in this burger chair?

Includes a bun frame, a burger cushion, and pickle and tomato slice pillows. Goes with the hotdog couch.

14. Perhaps you can make your own bathroom shelf.

This is hung from a towel rack with shower hooks. Yet, holds what you need.

15. For young recruits, boot camp starts at an early age.

If your son likes Vietnam War movies, this is the bed for him. Even has a ladder, porch, and slide.

16. Not sure whether to call this flowery or geometric.

Sure it has a flowery shape on the top. But its stand is a silver ring.

17. Try solving this Rubik’s Cube.

Actually you can’t since the jumbled blocks have drawers. But you can put your clothes in it.

18. You’d think this chair was all folded.

Well, at least the fabric is. Not sure how you can sit on this one.

19. A cabinet like this can make a rather interesting conversation piece.

Yes, it doesn’t look very practical. Unless you live on Middle Earth. Though it’s quite interesting to see that I couldn’t ignore it.

20. You might find your inner piece in this chair.

Yes, it’s in an Indian style. And yes, it has human legs and hands. Not sure what the hand signs stand for.

21. Someone must’ve recycled some very large guitar to make this table.

Actually that’s not the case. But if you have a rocking living room, it’s a must have.

22. How about a cassette coffee table in your living room?

For my younger viewers, before we had CDs and MP3 players, we used to listen to music on these things. Ask anyone who grew up during the 1980s and 1990s.

23. You’d almost think this table was made from work shop scraps.

And in a way it seems to be. But it does make a wonderful art piece, doesn’t it? Also got a lot of legs.

24. There’s nothing more cozy than a nest bed.

Basically consists of a bird’s nest frame with pillows resembling eggs. Makes you want to go straight to sleep.

25. In this bed, your little one can now sleep in a box.

Even has some openings to get in and out as well as a couple of windows. Also has wallpaper inside.

26. A large hollow tree trunk should make adequate chair arms.

Okay, they’re kind of assembled. But they certainly seem fit for a rustic cabin or lodge.

27. You’ll find this couch a bit up a wall, so to speak.

Yes, it’s a couch. Sure it you may not be able to sit on one of its sides. But it’s a couch.

28. I now introduce you to the ultimate book lover’s chair.

It’s practically surrounded by books on the edges. So you can spend hours reading Harry Potter.

29. If you love bacon, then you can’t resist having this for a breakfast table.

Not sure why they have to have bacon stuff. But at least it doesn’t smell like it. I hope.

You may have noticed how some of my blog posts on the media usually consist of me attacking conservative media outlets like Fox News, Breitbart, and Info Wars. However, understand that I didn’t attack these outlets solely for spouting conservative views alone. Rather, I’ve attacked them due to their stunning lack of journalistic ethics, propensity to spread misinformation, derogatory stereotypes, peddling conspiracy theories, and blatant disregard for the truth when it suits them. Not to mention, the fact these outlets have been so prolific and influential in the media landscape. However, I have to concede that these three media outlets have audiences who know what they’re getting.

This is a map from the New York Times depicting Sinclair’s reach. The green dots represent the markets where the company has a station. The orange ones represent where Tribune owns one. If Sinclair gets its way, 233 local stations can be under its wing.

This isn’t the case with audience who watch the local news on a station owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group. Called “the most dangerous company most Americans haven’t heard of,” Sinclair is possibly the largest TV station operator in the United States. Owning and/or operating a total of 173 stations across the country covering over 100 markets, this conglomerate reaches 40% of all American households, many of which are located in the South and Midwest along with small and medium sized cities. Thus, it had already hit the 39% cap imposed by the Federal Communications Commission which should’ve effectively barred the company from further acquisitions. But today, the Sinclair Broadcast Group is set to buy Tribune Media for $3.9 billion. The deal is expected to receive FCC approval sometime soon. If Sinclair gets its way, its media empire could cover nearly 72% of the US and an average viewership of 2.2 million households. Some of these Tribune stations are already in markets where a Sinclair one exists. At any rate, it could result in Sinclair creating a media oligarchy in the broadcast television industry with 233 stations under its wing. After all, Sinclair has expanded drastically over the last 2½ decades since it went from owning 3 stations in the early 1990s to 59 in less than a decade. By 2014, its local station ownership had tripled to 162. Still, it’s widely expected that Sinclair’s acquisition of Tribune Media will be approved thanks to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai reinstating the archaic “UHF discount” which allows broadcasters to understate their overall reach. In the meantime, the company has faced criticism over circumventing concentration in media ownership rules, particularly in using local marketing agreements and similar arrangements to take over stations on behalf of preferred third parties. It’s no surprise that so many progressive groups have expressed opposition to the sale. But so have conservative media outlets like Newsmax, The Blaze, and One America News Network perhaps fearing the competition. Though their motives may not be pure, they have a point when they speak about diversity and independence. After all, a larger Sinclair operation would chip into the market for right wing news as well as further diminish media access already dominated by a handful of players thanks to years of media consolidation.

Sinclair is notorious for trying to inject right wing propaganda into their local news broadcasts. One must-run segment is “Terror Alert Desk” which is mostly devoted to demonizing Muslims than discussing terrorism. Don’t expect any commentary on Charlottesville or white supremacist violence on this segment any time soon.

The Sinclair Broadcast Group has also faced significant scrutiny over promoting its conservative agenda within a news format that’s supposed to be apolitical: local news programming. The company’s stations have been known for featuring news content and programming that promote conservative political positions and have been involved in various controversies surrounding politically motivated programming decisions. From the early 2000s, Sinclair has infected local news coverage with politically-charged programming and turning local news stations into partisan outlets. The company is also known for pushing heavy partisan commentary in the lead-up to elections, often favoring Republican candidates. And it has received plenty of criticism for critical content of Democratic candidates during each presidential election since 2004. Most recently, Sinclair made headlines for striking a deal with Jared Kushner to give positive press to the Trump campaign while heavily criticizing Hillary Clinton. Now promoting their political agenda wouldn’t be much of a problem if Sinclair confined their bias on DC-produced segments, commentary shows, or attack ads. However, what Sinclair does on local news is far more insidious. And since more Americans place high value on their local news, it has become a perfect tool for the company to inject their right-wing propaganda.

Sinclair regularly produces conservative propaganda pieces before distributing them to their stations like this Mark Hyman’s “Behind the Headlines” commentary bit. Called “must-runs,” local stations are required to air them in their broadcasts. While they may not always feature commentary, they’re nevertheless inflammatory, misleading, and certainly inappropriate for a local newscast.

One practice that stands for are Sinclair’s infamous “must-run” segments. These segments are short pieces of political commentary Sinclair produces at their national headquarters that affiliates are required to air. Every day, Sinclair mandates its stations to air specific reports, segments, and editorials referred to as “must runs.” Sinclair produces these at its Washington DC headquarters and directs its station managers to work them into the broadcast over a period of 24 to 48 hours. And they mainly consist of conservative propaganda presented as news content. In July 2017, the HBO show Last Week Tonight had John Oliver present clips of various anchors using the exact same script describing the FBI as having a “personal vendetta” against Michael Flynn, clips of Mark Hyman editorials in which he compared multiculturalism and political correctness to a cancer epidemic and stated that marriage was a solution to domestic abuse, and joked that the “Terrorism Alert Desk” segments defined terrorism as “anything a Muslim does.” The show also aired content by former Trump adviser Boris Epstheyn alleging Obama won North Carolina due to voter fraud and a clip blaming the Democratic Party for slavery, Jim Crow, and the Klu Klux Klan. Back in the Bush administration, Sinclair required all its stations to air an editorial segment called “The Point,” which Hyman railed against the “angry left,” and “clueless academia,” dismissed peace activists as “whack jobs,” called the French “cheese-eating surrender monkeys,” and supported a host of right wing initiatives from a national sales tax to Medicare privatization. You might expect such commentary from Breitbart or Fox News that are often inflammatory and misrepresent the facts, not your local station. But this is exactly the kind of content Sinclair tells its stations to run on their local newscasts to promote its right-wing agenda. TV journalists have complained about being forced to run these overly partisan segments because as Oliver noted, “with Sinclair they’re injecting Fox-worthy content into the mouths of your local news anchors, the two people who you know, and who you trust, and whose on-screen chemistry can usually best be described as two people.” In one notable incident following the 9/11 attacks, Sinclair ordered its stations to read editorials praising President George W. Bush’s response. The WBFF staff objected, claiming the endorsement would “undermine public faith in their political objectivity.” It’s very clear Sinclair’s must run segments are a concerted effort to turn your local 6 o’clock broadcast into a little Fox News clone without disclosing it to the public. But when they put these segments into local newscasts, they degrade journalistic standards, abuse viewers’ trust, and blur the lines between news and propaganda. Furthermore, they compromise America’s right to be informed on the matters affecting their lives. Of course, Sinclair executives defend their practices citing how the mainstream media is overwhelmingly liberal and that their pieces provide a counterweight but that’s based on an intellectually dishonest interpretation of what journalism is.

Remember when Montana GOP congressional candidate Greg Gianforte body slammed Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs? Well, Montana’s NBC affiliate KECI refused to air the audio recording on account that there wasn’t enough facts on the incident. Despite that the audio clearly shows Gianforte started and that 3 local Fox News reporters watched it. It was later found Sinclair had just bought the station and that its vice president and director had donated to Gianforte’s campaign. So figure it out.

Sinclair also dictates how news stations can present some of the local news and programming is presented aside from the “must run” segments and scripts. Even before the Trump administration, Sinclair had a nasty habit of skewing news stories to fit with their conservative vision, censor content, and promote disparaging and very misleading information on Democratic candidates. In 2004, the company ordered its ABC affiliates to not air an episode of Nightline where Ted Koppel listed the names of soldiers killed in the Iraq War. They argued that the broadcast, “[appeared] to be motivated by a political agenda designed to undermine the efforts of the United States in Iraq” and undermined a then-ongoing effort by its Washington bureau to report on positive “untold” stories from Iraq under occupation mainstream media outlets ignored. ABC responded stating that Koppel’s reading was meant to be “an expression of respect which seeks to honor those who have laid down their lives for this country.” And it was a gesture Arizona US Senator John McCain found “deeply offensive.” That same year, tried to air an anti-John Kerry documentary called, “Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal,” alleging “that North Vietnamese captors used Kerry’s statements about atrocities committed by American troops during the conflict as an excuse to torture U.S. prisoners of war.” But the Democratic National Committee filed a legal motion with the Federal Election Commission stating it was inappropriate for a media organization to air “partisan propaganda” in the last 10 days of an election campaign. Then-Vice President of Corporate Relations Mark Hyman stated that any network refusing to air the anti-Kerry documentary were “acting like Holocaust deniers.” And when Sinclair’s Washington bureau chief Jon Leiberman called the documentary, “biased political propaganda,” he was promptly fired. As for President Barack Obama, well, Sinclair has linked him to Weather Underground founder Bill Ayers, alleged he raised campaign funds from Hamas and labeled him as a socialist extremist. In 2014, its Baltimore Fox affiliate WBFF according to The Baltimore Sun, “misleadingly edited and aired video of a protest march to make it seem as if protesters were chanting ‘kill a cop.’” In reality, the marchers actually chanted to the lead of Tawanda Jones, “We can’t stop ‘til killer cops are in cell blocks” in a non-violent protest against police brutality. Jones would eventually sue WBFF and Sinclair for defamation the next year. Because after that segment aired, she received death threats, lost community support for her protests, and had been reduced to reclusive behavior. In 2017, Montana’s NBC affiliate KECI refused to air an audio recording of GOP congressional candidate Greg Gianforte attacking Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs. The station denied Sinclair instructing them on handling the Gianforte incident and essentially framed it as an “he said/she said” situation. This despite that the audio recording covers it, Jacobs ended up in the hospital, and 3 Fox News reporters witnessed it. That and Politico later reported that Sinclair’s vice president and director had donated to Gianforte the day after he was charged with the assault. This July, Sinclair affiliate KBOI used a photo of Black Lives Matter activist DeRay McKeeson in several stories he had nothing to do with including an attempted robbery in Idaho.

Here’s a “must run” segment of “Bottom Line with Boris.” A former investment banker who was born in Soviet Russia, Boris Ephsteyn was a Trump crony during the 2016 campaign and in the White House. On his Sinclair segment, he normally parrots Trump White House commentary which stations are required to air 9 times a week.

But Sinclair’s connection with Republican politicians and operatives doesn’t just extend to media coverage. A 2004 study found that 95% of the company’s political contributions went to Republican candidates. The Center of Public Integrity showed concern on Mark Hyman’s history of government lobbying (such as for the FCC to loosen rules regarding media ownership concentration), along with making its stations provide “anything but fair and balanced news programming.” In 2002, the company gave lots of perks like using its luxury helicopter to former congressman Bob Ehrlich during his run for governor of Maryland. Mostly because Ehrlich pressed the FCC to fast-track its request to acquire more stations. In 2007, 9 Sinclair stations aired public affairs shows without disclosing that “host Armstrong Williams had been paid by an affiliate of the Education Department to make favorable comments about the Bush administration’s ‘No Child Left Behind’ policy.” The FCC issued the company a $36,000 fine for violating “rules against ‘payola punditry.’” In December 2016, Jared Kushner said that the Trump campaign, “struck a deal with Sinclair Broadcast Group during the campaign to try and secure better media coverage” particularly in swing states. As part of that deal, “Sinclair would broadcast their Trump interviews across the country without commentary.” The Washington Post noted that the company scored 15 exclusive interviews with Donald Trump in a year while “news stories and features favorable to Trump or that challenged Clinton were distributed to Sinclair stations on a ‘must-run’ basis.” Of course, Trump would appoint Pai to head the FCC Ajit Pai pushed through a measure that would allow the Sinclair-Tribune merger to go forward. Recently, Pai has further proposed eliminating a rule requiring each TV station to have a main studio in or near the community it serves, arguing that modern technology allows community interaction without one. But critics charge the action as another handout for Sinclair as former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler argues, “will have an open field to replace local voices with national control.” In April 2017, Sinclair hired former Trump official Boris Epshteyn as its “chief policy analyst” whose must run “Bottom Line with Boris” segments air on its local news affiliates 9 times a week. Yet, Epshteyn is a shady character. He’s pleaded guilty to assault in 2014. The House Intelligence Committee has questioned his ties to the Kremlin. In the 2016 campaign season, he dismissed Gold Star father Khizir Khan as a Democratic prop. And during his time in the Trump administration, he crafted the notorious Holocaust Remembrance Day statement that omitting any mention of Judaism. He left the White House that March amid reports that every cable news network hated him.

The Sinclair Broadcast Group’s rapid expansion and promotion of conservative politics highlights serious consequences of media consolidation. And as John Oliver noted, “Should this Tribune acquisition go through, there are going to be even more good journalists having to see their hard work placed alongside terror desk nonsense, just as there’ll be even more unsuspecting audience members who will be getting a heaping dose of Sinclair’s content, possibly without realizing it.” Perhaps it’s best you google your local stations and find out who owns it. If your local market has a Sinclair station, then expect that station to carry a lot of right wing bullshit. If it’s a Tribune, then pray to God that the acquisition doesn’t go through. For the Sinclair-Tribune merger is a very bad deal for America.

It’s one thing for a news station like Fox News to deliberately mislead the public to advance its own political agenda. But it’s very disturbing for a company like Sinclair to injecting intentionally misleading political diatribes where it has no place. It’s even worse that Sinclair forces news local stations run such content they know is bullshit and undermine viewers’ trust in them. If not, then perhaps warp their minds into accepting right wing talking points as undisputable fact as Sinclair would intend. For as John Oliver said, “The problem is, there is real power in hearing your trusted local newscasters using FBI and personal vendetta in a sentence.” Because after all, most people don’t really know who really owns their local station since they’re often branded with the national network that broadcasts on them, not the real owners. Nor do they seem to critically think about these stories aired on their local station. Scaremongering and propaganda have no place in local news since it’s corrosive to our democratic process. Sinclair’s “must-run” segments and other policies rob viewers of hearing local and opposing viewpoints. Sinclair’s acquisition of Tribune would lead to less competition, threaten media localism, and harm information diversity. Thus, it would best for the country if the Sinclair and Tribune merger doesn’t go through. Sinclair is a cancer on the local news and our democracy as well as should be stopped from buying more stations. No major media company should have that much power, especially if they’re abusing the trust between the public and their local news stations in order to advance their political agenda. But it also means that we must be more careful of what we hear on the news and know who owns them.

It’s widely said that Americans trust their local TV news broadcasts than any other source. For years, Sinclair has often abused that trust and eroded journalistic standards with their conservative propaganda. Advancing a political agenda has no place in a local newsroom meant to cover actual news stories, sports, traffic, and weather.

From the mid-1960s to the 1980s, an estimated 36 million undocumented people entered the United States through Mexico. 86% of these entries were offset by departures, meaning that these were mostly men coming to work in the US then leaving to go back to their families. But when the US started ramping up border security in the early 1990s, many of these migrant workers decided the daily dangerous border crossings weren’t worth it. So they came to the US, often with their families and stayed. Shortly thereafter, President Bill Clinton signed a bill that made it extremely hard for them to obtain legal status. Thus naturally, those staying with families and making a life here began to skyrocket, many which had underage children. So these kids grew up in the US, were educated in the US, and integrated into American culture. By the time Barack Obama became president in 2008, many of these children were teenagers or young adults and still considered undocumented and thus, couldn’t drive, work, or in the US legally. Thus, these children who grew up in the US couldn’t make a life for themselves in the only country they knew. Many of these DREAMers didn’t achieve their academic or professional potential simply because they couldn’t see what good it would do them to succeed. Many of them “transitioned to illegality,” suffering mental health crises and often losing any desire to achieve in school because they realized the country they thought of as their own didn’t actually have opportunities for them

In June 15, 2012, President Barack Obama announced a policy known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals to give legal status to undocumented children who were 16 or younger when they came to the US before June 2007. The program was designed for those who grew up as Americans and often discovered they weren’t citizens when they were getting ready to apply to college, find jobs, and figure out how to survive as an adult. Most of them haven’t lived even seen their home country since leaving for the US. As long as these undocumented youth stayed out of trouble and were enrolled in or graduated from school (or served in the military), then they qualified. This doesn’t mean everyone who qualified was approved. But for those who were, DACA not only protected them from deportation, opened the doors for things adults need to survive. Most recipients were able to get a driver’s license, a job, and attend college. Though many of them work in low-income jobs like food preparation, a good portion can leverage their work authorization and educational opportunities into white-collar jobs like sales or office administration. Other participants include college students, medical students, lawyers, and tech employees. As long as they reapply for DACA every two years, they can stay and work legally in the US. DACA doesn’t grant a pathway to citizenship nor offers permanent relief. But for these Dreamers, even a temporary reprieve is better than none. But it made these DREAMers feel American, welcomed, and normal. Today, there are about 1.9 million people potentially eligible for DACA and nearly 800,000 protected from deportation because of the program that has become a new embodiment for the American Dream.

On Tuesday, September 5, 2017, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced Donald Trump would end DACA with a six-month delay. Those currently covered by the program will retain their protections and work permits until they expire. Those who already applied will have their applications processed normally. Yet, the government won’t accept any new applications unless their protections expire before March 5, 2018. Even in that case, they have until October 5 to renew. Unless Congress passes a bill in the next 6 months to protect the DACA recipients, hundreds of thousands of them will fall back on their unauthorized status.But given that the Trump administration has taken steps to make the legal immigration process harder and more complicated, it’s highly unlikely Congress could pass an immigration bill that could satisfy 60 senators and the White House. In the meantime, it’s fairly clear the Trump administration doesn’t think Congress could pass a bill as DACA recipients live under crushing uncertainty. Besides, DACA’s critics claim the program is an example of presidential overreach that takes jobs away from citizens and legal residents. They warn that Trump will face massive opposition if he doesn’t keep his campaign promise to end it. And even if Trump granted DACA recipients a reprieve (which he won’t), the program may not survive a court challenge.

Without DACA, its recipients susceptible to deportation. It would mean that hundreds of thousands of people who’ve gone to work legally would suddenly become “illegal workers.” Some may have to drop out of college if they can’t retain their financial aid and perhaps not know what jobs they could get with the degrees they’re working to obtain. Others might have to give up a well-paying job for another paying under the table, sometimes not sure whether they’ll be paid. Or perhaps continue working at a legal risk to themselves and their employers. If their job includes health insurance, they will certainly lose that, too. It would raise questions on whether their drivers’ licenses issued under DACA that might’ve been valid when an immigrant started the engine but possibly invalidated while the car was on the road. Not to mention, it will open the federal government to a mess of lawsuits from suddenly legally liable employers. It gives them no rest that the federal government has their names and addresses. And the Trump administration seems to go after the undocumented immigrants they can most easily track down and pick up, putting the DREAMers at substantial risk for deportation. Though DACA recipients have months to prepare for that possibility, many of them have no good options.

To end DACA is a massive betrayal on the young Americans who grew up in the only country they know but won’t accept them as legal Americans through no fault of their own. Though to be fair, most undocumented immigrants came illegally because they had no legal options available. But these DACA recipients were brought here by their parents who just wanted a better life for them. They didn’t choose to come to this country. Some arrived as newborns and toddlers who didn’t even realize they had no legal status until they needed a Social Security number for a job or documentation to prove their eligibility for their first driver’s license. Others have known from a young age and have learned to live as quasi-fugitives afraid of being questioned by law enforcement. Yet, they’ve made their lives here. Their dreams are rooted here. They have jobs here. They pay taxes. They contribute to their families, communities, and the US economy. Some of them are married and have children. Some have served in the military. To make these Dreamers no longer welcome in the land they’ve called home for most of their lives is simply inhumane since they shouldn’t be forced to pay for their parents’ choices.

DACA may not be perfect, but there is no question it should remain. Doing away with the program will rob the US of high-achieving Americans who contribute to our economy and life. Not to mention, tear families apart and rip apart our nation’s moral fabric that make our country great. These DREAMers deserve to pursue their dreams and contribute to our society without living in constant fear of deportation and the lingering anxiety and uncertainty that everything they worked for could be taken away from them in the blink of an eye. Already DACA recipients have been living under threat of revocation since Donald Trump’s election on November. They’ve seen the Trump administration attempt to deport a few DACA recipients, supposedly protected. Now they have a deadline over which they have no control but which will profoundly affect the rest of their lives.

However, the worst about ending DACA isn’t just that it threatens 800,000 undocumented immigrants by removing their deportation protections and work permits. But that it threatens America’s legacy as a melting pot and a land of opportunity. And it sends a message that growing up in the US and having ties here means less than they ever have and the papers you hold or don’t have mean more. There’s never been a time when a generation of Americans, raised and rooted here has been stripped of official recognition and pushed back into the precarity of undocumented immigrant life. Though DACA didn’t technically legalize anyone, ending it would be the biggest “illegalization” of immigrants in American history. Sure it’s unprecedented for the government to offer protection to so many people without the opportunity to receive no full legal status. But it’s an effort of politicians trying to reconcile law and reality. Besides, growing up undocumented in the US is relatively uncommon in American history. Because while it was once possible to “get legal,” without leaving the US and trying to return (through US-born family members), it no longer is since 1976. To undo DACA will widen that gulf which has been wider than ever before. As the program hangs in the balance, the US has a group of people on the verge of being socially integrated and championed but legally isolated and victimized in a we we’ve never seen before. The days before Sessions’ announcement exemplify just how embedded these DACA recipients are in civil society. Universities, churches, employers, along with local and state governments urged Trump not to rescind the program. So did members of both parties, including Speaker of the House Paul Ryan as well as Americans who don’t necessarily support widespread legalization for undocumented immigrants. In fact, 70% of Americans in an NBC News poll thought DACA should stay. But none of that mattered to Trump.

There is nothing to justify revoking protections for undocumented immigrants who came to this country through no fault of their own. None of these DACA recipients deserve to be deported from the only home they know, torn apart from their families, or robbed from the lives they’ve built for themselves. If anything, these DREAMers deserve amnesty and a path to legalization and citizenship. After all, they’ve lived and worked in the US for most of their lives without enjoying the same legal rights and privileges their peers have exercised. They see themselves as American and have contributed to our society as anyone else. They pose no threat and don’t take away anything from the rest of us. Yet, critics would decry such an idea as amnesty like it’s a moral anathema. But could there be any group of people in America more in need or deserving of amnesty? Shouldn’t these people be able to drive, work, go to college, and provide for their families without a constant fear it can all be taken away from them? Shouldn’t they be able to stay without a constant fear of deportation hanging over their shoulder? Shouldn’t they be seen as part of a nation where they were raised and rooted in? If not, then why should they be punished for the sins of their parents? Why should their lives be upended for simply being undocumented? Why should they be deported to a country they don’t know anymore? It’s bad enough for undocumented adults to live in precarity since they chose to come illegally because of unavailable legal options. But it’s particularly heartless to rescind protections from those whose undocumented status wasn’t of their own making. Most Americans agree they shouldn’t be robbed of the chance to live fully productive lives, especially if they’ve been upstanding figures who’ve earned every right to be here. To send them back to their birthplace they have no other connection to, is sheer cruelty that appeals to the worst part of who we are as Americans. Now that Congress only has 6 months to come up with an immigration reform bill, all I ask is will there not be amnesty for these DREAMers? Or will these 800,000 DACA recipients be forced to give up their hopes, dreams, and the only lives they’ve known for no good reason?

We need to understand that the Trump administration’s reason for DACA only amount to pure unbridled racism. They would tell you it’s about upholding “the rule of law” but such rationale is bullshit. First, Donald Trump pardoned ex-Sheriff Joe Arpaio who was found guilty of criminal contempt for illegally targeting Latinos during his undocumented immigration raids. Second, the Obama administration had constitutional lawyers to advise them on the DACA policy. Third, white supremacists comprise a critical part of Trump’s political base whom he’s hesitated to condemn and noted how some of them were “fine people” during his infamous Phoenix rally in regards to Charlottesville. Then there’s his long history of racist behavior which includes housing discrimination, slamming Native American casino owners, calling for the execution of the Central Park Five, and promoting birtherism during the Obama administration. Ending DACA and threatening deportation to these DREAMers is cruel, shortsighted, and unnecessary as well as undermines the heart and soul of our nation. Yet, still, all I ask for these DREAMers is will there not be amnesty?

Now that the school year is upon us, it seems very appropriate that we move on to some NCAA craft projects since the college football season has just begun. And yes, I have a picture of a March Madness tournament bracket sheet from last year. But c’mon, it’s a signature collegiate event so it fits. Besides, I’m pretty busy with Easter stuff during March anyway. Anyway, while some diehard fans might prefer to buy overpriced crap from the NCAA store, some may want to make their own. Of course, the NCAA has some craft supplies available since they basically sell anything with a college team logo. But you don’t always have to pay the extra cash if you want to get creative. After all, you can get stuff in your college team’s colors at any craft store. Just look on some of the college crafts on Pinterest. So for your reading pleasure, I give you another treasure trove of college craft projects not licensed by the NCAA. Most of these featured will be from Division I, obviously.

This panel obviously states what’s important to those in Alabama.

Well, that would be pretty much it for any Alabama fan. After all, sweet tea is a noted Southern drink.

2. Perhaps carve a Wildcat jack-o’-lantern just in time for basketball season.

Well, at least the University of Kentucky has an appropriate mascot for it. Still, they’re lucky that basketball season starts in October.

3. A burlap wreath is perfect for any home rooting for the Texas Longhorns.

Though this wreath is more suited for football season. Then again, Texas is a huge football state.

4. Curl up on your couch this season with a WVU quilt.

Just make sure that the couch you sit on won’t be used for burning later. Well, in the event the Mountaineers win.

5. By this sign, this home values Georgia football.

After all, I’m sure the Atlanta Falcons let down the family who owns this sign. Then again, they could just be big Bulldog fans.

6. Support the Wichita State Shockers with these shocking blocks.

Includes some black, yellow, and white flowers on the top. Still, they get the “shockers” name from shocks of wheat.

7. Grace your home with this University of Illinois Fighting Illini panel.

The name Illini gets its name from the Illinois Confederation, which the state gets its name. This is their mascot Chief Illiniwek who’s been a center of controversy since the 1970s.

8. For the big game, how about drink from a sparkly LSU cup.

Yes, support your Tigers while drinking from a blinged out cup. Just make sure the glue’s dry before picking it up.

9. Nothing makes Halloween better than a wooden scarecrow for the Tennessee Volunteers.

For some reason, the candy corn nose is fitting with the school colors. Though orange and white aren’t a great combination.

10. Any home for Big Blue would adore this UK ribbon wreath on their home.

Wrapped with polka dot ribbon and decorated with blue and white flowers. Great for any Wildcat door.

11. Deck your living room on game day with this Michigan pallet.

Basically consists of 2 layers. One depicts the “M”. The other consists of yellow wooden strips.

12. The Oregon Ducks are always the pride of their state.

And here we have a pallet of the state of Oregon in green. Since the Ducks are a beloved team there.

13. A stained glass Illinois suncatcher is perfect to put against a window.

Depicts the “I” in orange against a blue background. Sure it’s not glamorous but it’s not like their Illini mascot logo.

14. No Auburn fan can go wrong with this football hanging.

After all, if you’re not a wreath fan, this will certainly do just fine. Has blue and orange dots on the sides.

15. This Alabama wreath is of pure simplicity.

It’s a yarn wreath that’s red on one side and white on the other. But contains houndsooth ribbons in between.

16. For tailgate specials, you might want to consult this Alabama menu.

Sure it’s blank. But I believe standard fare will consist of hotdogs, hamburgers, or wings. Though I may be wrong.

17. Keep warm at the game with this crocheted Spartan helmet from Michigan State.

Wonder if the visor is adjustable. Probably not. Though I’d like to see a more showy plume.

18. Be decked out for the game with these GSU earrings.

These look like big earrings yet that might be the camera’s work. But any fan from Georgia Southern is sure to love them.

19. Since the game should be a festive occasion, may I suggest this feathery LSU wreath?